China warns of 'prejudice' in US telecom report

BEIJING (AFP) - Beijing on Monday urged Washington to "set aside prejudices" after a draft Congressional report said Chinese telecom firms Huawei and ZTE were security threats that should be banned from business in the United States (US).

"We hope the US Congress will set aside prejudices, respect the facts, and do things that will benefit China-US economic cooperation instead of the contrary," said foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei.

The draft report by the US House Intelligence Committee, obtained by AFP, said an investigation has concluded that the two firms "cannot be trusted" to be free of influence from Beijing and could be used to undermine US security.

It said US authorities "must block acquisitions, takeovers or mergers involving Huawei and ZTE given the threat to US national security interests".